PL/SQL DECIMAL

The DECIMAL data type in Oracle PL/SQL is used to store numeric values with decimal precision. It is a fixed-point numeric data type that stores a specific number of digits before and after the decimal point. This allows for more accurate mathematical calculations and eliminates the rounding errors that can occur when using floating-point data types.

Syntax

The syntax for declaring a DECIMAL data type in Oracle PL/SQL is as follows:

variable_name DECIMAL(precision, scale);

Here, “precision” represents the total number of digits that can be stored, and “scale” represents the number of digits to the right of the decimal point. For example, if we declare a variable with a precision of 5 and a scale of 2, it can store values up to 999.99.

Example

DECIMAL data types can also be used in table definitions in Oracle PL/SQL. For example, we can create a table with a DECIMAL column as follows:

CREATE TABLE orders (
   order_id NUMBER(10),
   order_total DECIMAL(8,2),
   order_date DATE
);

In this example, the “order_total” column can store decimal values up to 999,999.99.

When performing mathematical operations on DECIMAL data types, it’s important to note that the result will also be a DECIMAL data type. If the result is too large to fit within the specified precision and scale, an error will occur.

In summary, the DECIMAL data type in Oracle PL/SQL is a fixed-point numeric data type that allows for more accurate mathematical calculations. It’s commonly used in financial and accounting applications where precision is critical.